Lt Carter of C33

[Signals]

Hi All,

has anyone any details on the submarine C33's commander Lt G E B Carter. He was lost at sea when C33 was possibily mined in August 1915. There is a possibility he had a premonition something was going to happen to him. Lt Cdr Francis Goodhart mentioned him when E18 was lost. He said, `Awfully sad about Halahan, they all seemed to have had a presentiment this time somehow.' He also wrote, `Mrs G very axious re Halahan as he had asked her to let his people know by wire if anything happened to him, rather like "Carters" case i wonder if any definate presentiment is "given"!

Does anyone know what he means about Carter who was lost on C33, Goodhart was still in Harwich when this happened, just before he went to the Baltic.

Cheers DB.

[submarine]

Hi Darren

Lt Gerald Ernest Berkeley Carter : Son of Brig-Gen F. C. Carter CB and Mrs Carter

157 Victoria St, London : Born India 1886: M/Shipman 1903 joined HMS Hyacinth July1903

in China: part of the landing party to capture the Mullah`s stronghold at Illig ( received the

Africa GSM with bar Somaliland 1902-04 ) Described "as zealous Promising and a Good

watchkeeper" ::joined Submarine service .to Mercury 1908 as Lieut ,served B3(Forth) 1909,

C22 (Vulcan ,Sub Lt ) in 1910 causing some damage to C28 when going alongside at Dundee

pier" due to error of judgement " :Command of A2 (Mercury ) in 1910 :Command of C33

(Arrogant) 1911 ,KIA 5th August 1915 when in Command of C33, It is thought that she

struck a mine after opp`s with the tender Malta off the Norfolk/Suffolk coast ,she was lost

with all hands.

Sorry i do not know of any premonition he may have had .

Colin

[Clio]

In the course of my researches I have uncovered quite a few premonitions. Of course in several post war cases the media reported presentiment or supernatural stories when they had nothing else to report. I interviewed LTO George Dove who served in G boats. His mates were convinced that G13 was a 'hexboat'. It survived the war. K13 was naturally associated with terrible forebodings long before she ever took to the water. There was a haunted E boat too but I forget its number - it too survived the war.

All told, sailors being a superstitious bunch, I dont suppose there was a single submariner who did not have a premonition at one time or another, given the hazards of the trade.

[Signals]

Hi Clio,

yes the submariners in particular were a superstitious mod, most of which would remain to themselves. Halahan entered the world of palmistry while in Reval, he was seeing a local Russian woman who told him, `You are in grave danger but you'll be happiest when your 40.'

My opion of that is stating the obvious for a WW1 Sub commander in enemy waters. To believe this, we'll never know the mental fatique these men could have been under with the stress of so many near misses and so many of their mates going missing around them. For Halahan to take these comments so to heart and arrange for a message to be sent to his wife before she got an official navy telegram if something happens to him on the next patrol, which by the way did happen, was pure mind games. Goodhart beleived the whole crew somehow knew this time. Before knowing any of this my grandmother said of her father, `He was regarded as a good luck charm and every captain wanted him on their boat because he always came back. ' This was before we knew he missed E18's last patrol. He did of course serve under Lt Tod, ex Baltic when he returned. Amazing how Goodhart compares Carter's loss to Halahan, something similar must have happened.

Cheers DB.

[submarine]

Hi Darren

I think you may be right about Submarines and superstition, i am researching a man

on D3 , and came across this piece from the book "Canada`s Submariners 1914-1923 "

on page 178. " For reasons known only to himself, Maitland-Dougall had taken a formal

last will and testament form with him to sea.and it was during this patrol that he filled it

out, signed it and had it witnessed by Andy Barlow and Chief ERA Turbett. The will was

dated 11th January 1918 , and the beneficiaries were his parents .

He was lost 15th March 1918 along with all hands on D3.

Colin